Duke’s Williamson shines in NCAA Tourney debut

RJ Barrett leads Duke with 26 points in win over North Dakota St.

Zion Williamson had an explosive NCAA Tournament debut with 25 points to lead topseeded Duke to an 85-62 win over North Dakota State on Friday night.

RJ Barrett led Duke (31-5) with 26 points and 14 rebounds and combined with Williamson for a prolific showing for the freshman stars. But it was Williamson who could not be contained in the second half, and he turned a tight early contest into a Duke runaway in the first round of the East Region.

Duke led just 31-27 at halftime, but Williamson opened the second half by driving on two defenders for a layup that drew a foul. He missed the free throw but slammed home the rebound, and his layup moments later gave the Blue Devils a 40-27 lead.

The Bison (19-16) never recovered. Vinnie Shahid led the Bison with 20 points.

LIBERTY 80, MISSISSIPPI STATE 76

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Caleb Homesley scored 22 of his 30 points in the second half and Lovell Cabbil hit a go-ahead 3pointer with 1:16 to play to send 12th-seeded Liberty to the first NCAA Tournament win in school history.

The Flames (29-6) had lost twice as a No. 16 seed and once in the play-in game.

Cabbil finished with 18 points and Myo Baxter-Bell added 13.

Quinndary Weatherspoon scored 27 points to lead the Bulldogs.

OREGON 72, WISCONSIN 54

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Payton Pritchard scored 19 points, Kenny Wooten protected the rim with four blocks, and 12th-seeded Oregon extended its surprising March run with a victory in the first round.

The Ducks (24-12) won four games in four days to win the Pac-12 tournament last week just to make the NCAAs then followed it with an impressive victory over a higher-seeded opponent. Oregon advanced to play No. 13 seed UC Irvine (31-5) on Sunday in the second round of the South Region.

VIRGINIA 71, GARDNERWEBB 56

No. 1 seed Virginia rallied from 14 points down to beat No. 16 seed Gardner-Webb and avert another first-round exit as a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Cavaliers trailed 30-16 with 6:42 left in the first half of the South Region opener but rallied and cut the Runnin’ Bulldogs (23-12) lead to six at halftime.

De’Andre Hunter led the Cavaliers with 23 points and Mamadi Diakite added 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting and nine rebounds.

TENNESSEE 77, COLGATE 70

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Admiral Schofield had 19 points and No. 2 seed Tennessee held off a second-half rally by No. 15 seed Colgate in the opening round.

Jordan Bone added 16 and Jordan Bowden 14 for Tennessee (30-5).

BUFFALO 91, ARIZONA STATE 74

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Jeremy Harris and Nick Perkins each scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds to help lead No. 6 seed Buffalo past No. 11 Arizona State in the West Region.

CJ Massinburg had 18 points and six rebounds for Buffalo (323), which won its 13th straight game.

UC IRVINE 70, KANSAS STATE 64

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — UC Irvine got back-to-back 3pointers from Evan Leonard to spark the deciding run in an upset over Kansas State, the Anteaters’ first NCAA Tournament victory in school history.

Leonard and Max Hazzard each scored 19 points to send UC Irvine (31-5) into the second round of the South Region.

WASHINGTON 78, UTAH STATE 61

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Noah Dickerson had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and ninthseeded Washington made a successful return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in eight years.

Eighth-seeded Utah State (287) had won 10 in a row and 17 of 18 while taking the Mountain West title.

TEXAS TECH 72, NORTHERN KENTUCKY 57

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Jarrett Culver had 29 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to help No. 3 seed Texas Tech shake off a slow start against No. 14 seed Northern Kentucky in the first round.

Tariq Owens scored 12 points and Davide Moretti had 10 for Texas Tech (27-6).

OKLAHOMA 95, MISSISSIPPI 72

Rashard Odomes and Christian James scored 20 points apiece, Kristian Doolittle had 19 points and matched a careerhigh with 15 rebounds and No. 9 seed Oklahoma blitzed Mississippi with a season high in points in the first round.

The Sooners (20-13) scored on eight of their first nine possessions for a 12-0 lead and led by 17 at halftime.

IOWA 79, CINCINNATI 72

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Luka Garza scored 20 points, Jordan Bohannon made a threepoint play during Iowa’s closing surge as the 10th-seeded Hawkeyes rallied past No. 7 seed Cincinnati in the first round.

Point guard Justin Jenifer scored a career-high 19 points for Cincinnati (28-7), which hasn’t made it past the opening weekend for seven straight years.

HOUSTON 84, GEORGIA STATE 55

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Corey Davis scored 26 points to help third-seeded Houston to victory in the Midwest Region.

Fabian White had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Breaon Brady added 13 for Houston (323).

D’Marcus Simonds scored 18 points for No. 14 seed Georgia State (24-10), the Sun Belt Conference Tournament champion.